From kangaroos to sudden explosions, this team is ready to face it all! | BP2B: Student Edition! Ep3

Join us on Best Place to Build – Student Edition as we take a tour of what Team Agnirath has been up to, in IIT Madras. It’s IITM's very own student-led solar racing team. That too, the only Indian team to compete in the World Solar Challenge 2025. In this exclusive tour, Vidhi meets two of the team leads behind India’s most advanced student-built solar race car, designed to travel 3022 km across the Australian Outback, powered entirely by sunlight. ------ What’s inside this episode • The real conditions of the World Solar Challenge: 50°C heat, 70 km/h crosswinds, hailstorms, road trains, and desert wildlife • How IIT Madras students engineered a 6-meter solar car using ultra-light carbon fiber and 25% efficiency solar cells • Why the team chose a boat-shaped aerodynamic profile to drastically reduce drag • A deep dive into the solar tech: MPPTs, regenerative braking, battery cooling, ETFE-based high-efficiency panels • How the team manages 5 days of endurance racing: camping routines, convoy strategy, observers, and on-road repairs • The engineering setbacks that pushed them into the Adventure Class: battery cell failures, overheating MPPTs, and rain-related challenges • Their upcoming goals: Sasol Solar Challenge 2026 and aiming for a global podium finish • Industry support from Tata Power, Ashok Leyland, Prabha Auto, Bridgestone, and more ------ Why this episode matters: This story goes beyond racing. It showcases the future of sustainable mobility, high-efficiency solar vehicles, and student-driven engineering innovation from India. Whether you're curious about solar cars, EV technology, extreme engineering competitions, or the science behind ultralight automotive design, this episode offers rare insights from inside the workshop. Featuring Agnirath Solar Car Team – IIT Madras (Check out: https://www.agnirath.in/) Team members: Sairam (Business Head), Pratyush (Former Vehicle Dynamics Lead & Team Head) ------- 00:00 – Intro 00:24 – Welcome to the Best Place to Build: Student Edition 01:40 – Introduction to Team Agnirath IITM 02:55 – The 3022 km World Solar Challenge explained 04:20 – Why do solar cars look like boats? 06:10 – Solar panels, MPPTs & power management 08:22 – Battery cooling, carbon fibre & structural design 10:45 – The 2023 race: failures, fixes & moving to Adventure Class 13:02 – Life on/off the track: heat, wind, wildlife & road trains 15:10 – Team logistics: convoys, observers & daily strategy 17:15 – Industry partnerships & technology collaborations 23:40 – What’s next for Agnirath? Relevant keywords: solar car india, iit madras solar car, agnirath iitm, world solar challenge india, solar vehicle engineering, mppt solar racing, ev battery cooling, aerodynamic solar car design, student engineering teams india, sasol solar challenge, high-efficiency solar cells

SairamguestVidhihostPratyushguest

Dec 5, 202525mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: December 5, 2025
Duration: 25m
Channel: Best Place To Build
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Join us on Best Place to Build – Student Edition as we take a tour of what Team Agnirath has been up to, in IIT Madras. It’s IITM's very own student-led solar racing team. That too, the only Indian team to compete in the World Solar Challenge 2025. In this exclusive tour, Vidhi meets two of the team leads behind India’s most advanced student-built solar race car, designed to travel 3022 km across the Australian Outback, powered entirely by sunlight. ------ What’s inside this episode
The real conditions of the World Solar Challenge: 50°C heat, 70 km/h crosswinds, hailstorms, road trains, and desert wildlife
How IIT Madras students engineered a 6-meter solar car using ultra-light carbon fiber and 25% efficiency solar cells
Why the team chose a boat-shaped aerodynamic profile to drastically reduce drag
A deep dive into the solar tech: MPPTs, regenerative braking, battery cooling, ETFE-based high-efficiency panels
How the team manages 5 days of endurance racing: camping routines, convoy strategy, observers, and on-road repairs
The engineering setbacks that pushed them into the Adventure Class: battery cell failures, overheating MPPTs, and rain-related challenges
Their upcoming goals: Sasol Solar Challenge 2026 and aiming for a global podium finish
Industry support from Tata Power, Ashok Leyland, Prabha Auto, Bridgestone, and more
------ Why this episode matters: This story goes beyond racing. It showcases the future of sustainable mobility, high-efficiency solar vehicles, and student-driven engineering innovation from India. Whether you're curious about solar cars, EV technology, extreme engineering competitions, or the science behind ultralight automotive design, this episode offers rare insights from inside the workshop. Featuring Agnirath Solar Car Team – IIT Madras (Check out: https://www.agnirath.in/) Team members: Sairam (Business Head), Pratyush (Former Vehicle Dynamics Lead & Team Head) ------- 00:00 – Intro 00:24 – Welcome to the Best Place to Build: Student Edition 01:40 – Introduction to Team Agnirath IITM 02:55 – The 3022 km World Solar Challenge explained 04:20 – Why do solar cars look like boats? 06:10 – Solar panels, MPPTs & power management 08:22 – Battery cooling, carbon fibre & structural design 10:45 – The 2023 race: failures, fixes & moving to Adventure Class 13:02 – Life on/off the track: heat, wind, wildlife & road trains 15:10 – Team logistics: convoys, observers & daily strategy 17:15 – Industry partnerships & technology collaborations 23:40 – What’s next for Agnirath? Relevant keywords: solar car india, iit madras solar car, agnirath iitm, world solar challenge india, solar vehicle engineering, mppt solar racing, ev battery cooling, aerodynamic solar car design, student engineering teams india, sasol solar challenge, high-efficiency solar cells

SPEAKERS

Sairam
guest
Vidhi
host
Pratyush
guest

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Best Place To Build, featuring Sairam and Vidhi, From kangaroos to sudden explosions, this team is ready to face it all! | BP2B: Student Edition! Ep3 explores iIT Madras Team Agnirath races solar car across Australia’s extremes Team Agnirath (IIT Madras) builds ultra-efficient solar race cars and represented India at the World Solar Challenge in 2023 and 2025.

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